NEXT Wednesday, October 25, is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, when the army of Henry V of England thoroughly ‘whacked’ the French. Out of that scene of slaughter comes a delightful doggie story.
Among the many English knights on the battlefield was Sir Piers Legh, who was wounded, but whose faithful mastiff stood guard over him for several hours until the battle was won and help was at hand.
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Back at the family seat, Lyme Hall in Cheshire, Sir Piers bred a special line of mastiffs from his dog (whose name was not recorded), which were given as gifts to the monarchs of Europe for hundreds of years. Sadly, the strain died out about a hundred years ago*
A story I picked up some time ago indicates that dogs are still man’s best friend. In Michigan in the United States, a lone farmer ventured out to get more firewood at the height of a snowstorm, wearing nothing but long johns, a shirt and slippers.
He slipped and broke his neck and lay helpless in the snow. His golden retriever was with him and immediately cuddled up to him to keep him warm.
The farmer shouted and the dog, still lying on him, barked until nearly 30 hours later when someone eventually heard them and came to their aid. So, let’s hear it for dogs.
Moving to trees, the English oak is without doubt one of the world’s most famous trees. Well, arborists have discovered about 1 200 more of them in a remote, hidden corner, bringing the known total in England to about 3 400. Most of the newly-discovered ancient oaks are between 400 and 650 years old, but some of them go back as far as 800 years.**
British researchers have conducted the first ever audit of the world’s trees and have established that there are 60 060 species worldwide.
Researchers, from London-based Botanic Gardens Conservation International say the country with the greatest variety of trees is Brazil with 8 715 species.
Globally, about 9 600 species are threatened with extinction and about 300 are critically endangered, with fewer than 50 specimens left in the wild.**
There are an estimated 1 700 tree species in southern Africa and more than 100 others are introduced aliens which have become naturalised citizens.***
And now, for the cat that has everything. A British firm is producing the ultimate cat box. Your cat, when it has a call of nature, goes into the box and does what comes naturally.
Then, as he/she leaves, the box senses that it has been used and gently tumbles the deposit to the bottom of the box and rights itself for the next visitor. Complete with interior lighting for elderly cats with poor eyesight, the cost doesn’t really matter – your cat is bound to love it.*
*This England magazine, **The Week: the Best of the British and Foreign Media, ***Trees of Southern Africa, Braam van Wyk & Piet van Wyk, Struik, Cape Town, 1997.
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